DON'T ASSUME YOUR KIDS WILL SAY NO TO DRUGS, ALCOHOL, TOBACCO

Which parents should be most concerned about whether their teens will use
drugs, drink or smoke?

Here's the answer, according to a survey: Parents of teens who consider
themselves to be popular.

That doesn't mean parents of loners and of kids with relatively little
self-esteem should take their youngsters' well-being for granted.

Instead, it should be a wake-up call for all parents.

Many parents reportedly are in denial, desperate or both. For their kids'
sake, they should wake up and get help from health care professionals,
guidance counselors and clergy.

In the survey of more than a thousand kids ages 12 to 17, about a fourth
named drugs as their number one concern. That's down from 32 percent who
listed it as a top concern in 1995. But that's not necessarily encouraging.

"It has become such a commonplace experience for teens that their concern
about it has come down," said Joseph Califano, chairman and president of
Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.

"We've reached a point now in America's high schools where getting high,
getting drunk are so common -- drugs are now imbedded in the high school
experience. And despair and denial characterize the parents' attitudes."

Some of the survey's other findings, reported by The Associated Press, are:

- - 61 percent of teens say they attend high schools with drug problems.
That's up from 44 percent in 2002. In middle schools, the percentage is 31
- -- up from 19.

- - Four in five teens in high school said they've seen use, sale or
possession of illegal drugs there, or seen someone who was drunk or high on
campus.

- - Some 13 percent of teens said they'd tried marijuana, and 4 percent said
they used it in the past month. But such survey results are often
understated because respondents are hesitant to admit such drug use.

- - 86 percent of parents say drinking is a big part of the college
experience, but only 29 percent think their own teens will do a lot of
drinking in college. We hope they're right. But many of those parents
probably shouldn't count on it.

Book Has Tips For Parents, Kids

Tips for parents and kids are in "Drug Safety -- Smart Choices for Life," a
book distributed by the Midland Police Department with the help of
businesses and organizations.

For parents, some of the tips are:

- - Make sure your kids know they can talk to you about whatever they're
going through.

- - The more parents are lovingly involved with their children, the less
likely it is that drugs will enter the home.

- - Starting at an early age, ensure your children know drugs' dangers, are
prepared to face the many temptations associated with growing up, and have
an outline of the disciplinary action that will result if parental rules
are broken.

- - Consider offering a reward for resisting peer pressure -- perhaps
permission to do something special or exciting.

- - Kids learn more from what adults do than what they say.